Monday, November 10, 2008

In becoming more acquainted with the food bloggy world, I’ve noticed that many bloggers do not drink diet sodas or drinks with artificial sweeteners. So I really feel like I have to “fess up” to my addiction.

My name is Holly. And I’m addicted to Diet Cokes from McDonald’s. (See previous post re: loving the golden arches.)

Really. I get one every morning before work, and usually one at lunch. I also drink a Caffeine Free Diet Coke from a can at night.

Now, before you ask me my address to send me bottles of Fiji water by the pallet, I DO drink a lot of water. It’s the first thing and last thing I drink everyday, and I drink it with ALL of my meals. I drink more than 100 ounces depending on if I am working out and how much (when I was training for marathons, I guzzled about a gizzillion ounces a day).

To be honest, the idea of giving up DCs forever scares me. I know the artificial sweeteners are bad. I know they say diet sodas cause weight gain, although I don’t think this is the case with me. But it is my ONE vice, and it’s what gets me through the day.

So I’m going to start with giving up my can of diet soda at night. I know this might not seem like a big sacrifice, but it really is for me. I am hoping that slowly I can get down to one DC a day. Then, maybe I’ll get down to a few times a week.

What about you? What do you drink on a normal day? Any ideas for good, low-cal drinks?

13
comments:

I am a HUGE former DC addict! I started off drinking it freely (I'm not even sure how much I drank). When I got out of college and moved in with Josh, I dropped down to 1 can a day. It was hard, but knowing I had my "one" with dinner made it easy. Now I drink it 1 time per week (when we go out to dinner). Honestly, I don't even miss it. The two step drop worked really well for me. Maybe eventually I won't drink it at all, but for now...once a week is good :)

I'm in the same boat in that I hate drinking water and resort to tricking myself into thinking my Diet A&W and morning American are enough liquids to sustain me throughout the day. If I have an americano in the morning (one packet of splenda), then I try not to have a pop at night. Cystal Light is pretty good but again, art. sweeteners. My husband drinks about 18 glasses of water a day and it makes me so jealous!

Erica - I am so glad I'm not alone! :-) It makes me feel good when people say that they don't miss it. I make it sound like a drug problem...but it kind of is! I like your one/day idea. I don't think I could do it cold turkey...not strong enough!

WeightingGame - I LOVE Diet A&W, too! Pretty much all diet sodas. I <3 Crystal Light, but yeah, there's the artifical sweetners. I wish I could be like your hubs, too! Maybe one day. Sigh.

i used to love diet coke, too!!i don't think it's realistic for you to get rid of it forever, especially if you love it but you can switch it up with some other good drinks--my favorite non-water beverage is FUZE! so. good.hope you have a wonderful day!

Hey Holly! I know what you mean when you say it is a "secret", but just cause alot of other bloggers don't "do it" doesn't mean you can't? I mean, get real, we can't all be perfect eaters!! RIGHT?! But if you truly want to stop drinking DC for yourself and not for other bloggers, than here are my suggestions: I used to drink about 3-4 cans per day, and I stopped buying it. Simple. When it's not around, you can't drink it. Getting a headache? Chug water + 2 advil. It'll take a few weeks, but you'll survive. If this is too much, I agree with your idea of taking 1 out slowly and maturely.

It's food that are my vices rather than drinks- I can get by without drinks and be fine (but if baked goods are in question I am ALL OVER that:)). I drink loads of tea (green, white, or black), water, and skim milk.

One thing you can try doing is cutting back on the size of your Coke. They sell little half-cans at the store, so maybe you could try that out and gradually cut back that way. Or ask for the kiddie size at McDonalds?

Philabundanceoflife - You are so right. I often find myself comparing what I do to what others do...and that's not healthy all the time. Thank you for your advice - I'm going to stop keeping it around my house! Well, I might keep a can or two for an emergency. :-)

Sagan - I love baked goods AND drinks? Aggh! But I forgot about tea. A co-worker recently turned me onto tea - loves it! Plus, I am always cold so it could serve yet another purpose. Thank you for the suggestion! :-)